'Highly respected': Mohammed Saleem Chaudhry, 75 who was stabbed to death in Small Heath, Birmingham, last night

A grandfather was stabbed to death just yards from his front door as he walked home from prayers at his mosque.

Muhammed Saleem Chaudhry, 75, was discovered in a pool of blood by neighbours who were alerted to screams.

He had been stabbed three times in the back and his head had been stamped on during the attack on Monday night.

Yesterday his devastated family told of their grief at the loss of a ‘defenceless old man’, as police struggled to determine a motive for the brutal attack. Neighbours said the area had been blighted by gangs.

The ‘highly respectable’ father of seven – who suffered from arthritis and walked with the aid of a stick – is not believed to have been targeted in a mugging gone wrong because his wallet was found in his clothing.

Officers said they could not rule out the possibility the grandfather of 22 was the victim of a racist attack, and may have been followed for some or all of the half-mile journey from his mosque, but there was no evidence to support either theory.

He was attacked opposite a primary school at 10.30pm, after leaving evening prayers at Green Lane mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham, where he prayed five times a day.

Mr Chaudhry, a retired baker, was returning to his wife of 50 years, Said, who was in bed at the time of the incident.

Yesterday, one of the couple’s five daughters, Shazia Khan, 45, said: ‘The surgeons told my mum they had never seen stab wounds so brutal before.

‘He was attacked in the evening on his own. To me it looks premeditated. I am utterly devastated.’

Her brother, Shahid, added: ‘My mum is absolutely devastated. Her world has fallen apart.’

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Detectives have launched a murder inquiry after 75-year-old Mohammed Saleem Chaudhry was stabbed to death in this lane in Small Heath, Birmingham

Police officers were called by the ambulance service to Little Green Lane, in the Small Heath area of the city, shortly after 10.30pm, after reports the pensioner had suffered serious injuries

The scene in Little Green lane with the junction of Arsenal Street,
Small Heath, Birmingham, where a highly respected member of the community was stabbed to death

A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out later to determine the exact cause of death

Mr Chuadhry's nephew, Javid Iqbar, told how he had found his uncle, who carried a
walking stick, lying in a pool of blood after a frantic phone call from
his aunt.

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Mr Iqbar, 53, said: 'My auntie called me just after 10.30pm, and straight away I knew something must have been wrong.

'She just started shouting at me to come quickly, that Mohammed
had been hurt and she needed help. I raced round to their house and I
saw a figure lying in the street, with the neighbours standing over him.

'I dashed over and he was lying there motionless, in a pool of blood - he had obviously been very seriously attacked.

'The neighbours had heard shouting in the street and looked outside, and they saw him lying there.

'He had been on his way home from Mosque, where he had been for evening prayer. It was only a short walk from the house.

'They called an ambulance straight
away and woke up my aunt. My aunt was crying and begging for help. The
paramedics arrived and were trying to save him - they rushed him
straight to hospital and I followed them in my car.

The stabbing happened in Little Green Lane in Small Heath, two miles from Birmingham city centre

'When we got there, he was rushed
away at once, and then the doctors came out and told us that there was
nothing they could do. It was the worst night of my life. Our world fell
apart, my aunt is devastated.

'We can't understand why anyone would want to hurt Mohammed. He is a real family man and would never do anything to hurt anyone.

'I have no idea why he was attacked -
he was just a defenceless old man, walking on his own, late at night.
This is a very tightly knit community, and everyone has been rocked by
the news. I just hope whoever did this will be brought to justice.'

He lived with his wife, Said Begum, in a terraced house off Little Green Lane, just yards from where he was stabbed.

Today,
his daughter, Shazia Khan, said he was returning from evening prayers
at the nearby mosque when he was attacked and stabbed four times in the
back.

Speaking outside her
father's address, Mrs Khan, who travelled up from London, said: 'We're
just so shocked - for him to lose his life in such a brutal way.

'It's very tragic. He was very well-respected in the community. He's such a lovely man. I just can't believe it. Everyone, old and young, knew him.

'Neighbours have told us they heard screams and called for an ambulance. It's thought he may have tried to fight off his attacker.'

She said the father of seven and grandfather of 22 used to walk to the mosque five times each day.

He had lived at the property off Little Green Lane with his wife for some 25 years and used to work at the RHM Bakery, which is now a Morrisons supermarket, before retiring some years ago, his daughter added.

'We just hope the police find who did this. It was him today, it could be someone else tomorrow.'To kill a defenceless old man who had a walking stick - well, it's just terrible.'

Tragic: Shazia Khan, daughter of murder victim Muhammed Saleem, who was stabbed to death

Police have launched a murder inquiry after the pensioner was found just yards from a primary school last night.

Officers were called by the ambulance
service just after 10.30pm after reports that a man had suffered
serious injuries on the same lane as Wyndcliffe Primary School.

Detective Inspector Martin Slevin, from
West Midlands Police, said: 'We are in the very early stages of this
investigation and the motive for the attack remains unclear.

'Today we will be examining CCTV footage and speaking to local residents who who may have seen something last night.

'We really want to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything out of the ordinary.'